Thursday, February 4, 2010

In the News - authorized to buy

Highlights of the Town Council discussion on the new waste recycling system from Wednesday's meeting are reported in the paper:


Franklin votes to borrow money to fund new trash system




Wednesday, February 3, 2010

FM Budget Workshop Part 4 - 1/25/10

This is part 4 of the Budget Workshop held on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. Susan Gagner completes her presentation, Jim Dacey covers debt and Jeff Nutting explains the Stabilization Fund and 'free cash'.


Time: 26 minutes, 47 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part four of the session recording. Susan Gagner, Town Comptroller, completes her presentation reviewing pages 8 and 9 on Net School Spending, and a little on Page 7, which was covered in Part 1.

Jeff Nutting introduces Jim Dacey, the Treasurer/Collector, who goes into detail on the debt process, highlighting the almost continuous planning and re-evaluation done in this area. The master spreadsheet they use has had 57 revisions in about 7 or 8 years.

Jeff gets asked by Scott Mason to explain the Stabilization Fund.
Steve Sherlock asks for them to cover "free cash".

The group then takes a break for refreshments and conversation. We'll resume in part 5 with the School Budget.

Susan Gagner - Page 8 - Net School Spending

Susan Gagner - Page 9 - Net School Spending (cont'd)

Susan Gagner - Page 7 - Chapter 70 and School Budget history

Jim Dacey - Debt process details

Jim Dacey - Debt plan - latest revision



Jim Dacey - Debt percent of overall budget

-----


Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit FranklinMAtters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission


I hope you enjoy!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html 


Live reporting - Closing items

K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
none

L. OLD BUSINESS
none

M. NEW BUSINESS
none

N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Powderly - under-utilization of funding available for seniors to provide relief from property taxes


Pfeffer - First information night on Housing trust, 6 couples came for info; Medway looking to become a green community, is Franklin looking at this?
Nutting - we are looking at it, but we are not sure we can meet the standard, our buildings are newer and may not be able to save as much as they would like. We have applied for solar panels for one of the schools
Pfeffer - One of Carlo's words of wisdom was if someone sends an anonymous letter, ignore it
Mason - yes, I have been getting unsigned letters, not that I am not concerned, but if you don't sign it, I can't follow up on it


O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
not needed

P. ADJOURN
motion to adjorn




Live reporting - Legislation

J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
• Resolution 10-85: Authorization to Expend Funds in Excess of Available Appropriations
a regular house keeping requirement, better to be a little under than over

motion to approve - passed 8-0

• Resolution 10-86: Authorization to Borrow for the Purchase of Trash Totters



motion to approve - passed

Discussion
Jeff in order to implement the new system, need to front the cost for the bins/totters
once paid off, the fee could be used to replenish them as needed and still drop over time

Vallee speaking against the purchase now, the timing is wrong
Nutting - We were told to fix this, we spent more than three years on this, we worked with the Recycling Committee, did a ton of research,
Whalen - I am in favor of this

Garella - the negative vote was due to the single bin option, not due to any other numbers. If you don't go with this program, the cost will increase over time.

McGann - clarification question on bidder delivery of new truck
Nutting - either bidder would have to meet the requirements of the RFP

Nutting - we went out with an increase in recycling, we have been to the Council previously on a pay-as-you-throw process and you didn't like that, we have now come with the single stream process

Pfeffer - my concern is with the seniors being able to handle the units

McGann - proceeding to ask Jeff
Mason - discussion is bordering on the item that would come up for discussion next week. This is for the totters, next week is the fee schedule

Nutting - we would need totters for this system

McGann - question on who pays for some items
Nutting - residents already pay for some items, some of which it will increase, the $25 fee may not be the contract, we haven't finished negotiation yet

McGann - how is there such a difference amongst the bidders
Nutting - I can speak to that, they have to meet the requirements of the RFP

Roll call (requires 2/3 majority)

Jones - can we combine this and do this next week

Vallee - I am against this for the reasons I mentioned before





Passed 6-2  McGann, Vallee - both voted no
1 Absent (Zollo)

• Resolution 10-87: Rescission of Authorization to Borrow – Municipal Off-Street Parking
house keeping item, authorized several years ago, taking it off the books but it is not relevant to anything now

Motion to approve - passed 8-0

• Resolution 10-88: Rescission of Authorization to Borrow – Purchase of Street Lights
The purchases were made with cash and we did not need to borrow to pay for them.
Another house keeping item, authorized several years ago, taking it off the books but it is not relevant to anything now

Motion to approve - passed 8-0

Live reporting - License

G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS - Application for a New Wine & Malt License – Spruce Pond Creamery
Motion to approve, Passed 8-0

H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
none

I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
none



Live reporting - Town Council

Attending:  Kelly, Jones, Vallee, Whalen, Mason, Pfeffer, McGann, Powderly
Missing: Zollo

A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – January 6, 2010
Motion to approve, with addition of sentence from S Whalen
Passed 8-0

B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
none

C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
none

D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
Michael Galvin, Franklin Resident, Vice-President - American Waste Services, LLC
speaking on cost for contract bidding of the waste program
"taking away services that residents currently have"





 Robert Delllorco gave his five minutes to Michael to continue speaking

\(I'll add the recording of this later)

Gene Garella - Chairman, Recycling Committee
committee voted three times
unanimous to accept a single stream recycling
3-1 vote to accept (to be filled in)
voted against increasing the fee at Beaver St

program adds overflow bags to residents to cover for parties
recycling made easier with single stream
recycling increase should reduce waste tonnage

No questions allowed during citizens comments

E. APPOINTMENTS
none

F. HEARINGS
none



More on cyberbullying


... we need to treat bullying as a public health issue. We reduced teen smoking and drunk driving with massive education programs. We can do the same with bullying.
But it starts at home.
Read all of Kevin Cullen's column in the Boston Globe here.
We’ve learned little in the United States, even though the study cited our national anti-bullying efforts to date. I suspect that the reasons the US bullying rate has not moved are complex. But a good place to start is coming up this Sunday as a huge percentage of Americans will sit down in living rooms and bars and watch the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts play in the Super Bowl.
Most bullying begins with nasty words, and what will we certainly see on Sunday? We’ll see player after player jawing at each other and talking trash. No media outlet seems above glorifying in some way the top trash talkers in sports, whether it is reminiscing about Muhammad Ali or observing the most flamboyant athletes of the moment.
And read all of Derrick Jackson's column in the Boston Globe here

The MA Trial Court Law Library page here has a great collection on the legislation around cyberbullying


My preference is for starting at home. The schools can help but even if they do all they can, when a kid goes home and it is not reinforced, all the effort is lost.

Wha do you think?

Are your oil fired buners compliant?

From the massgov Twitter stream today, I saw:
@massgov: Older oil burners must be upgraded to prevent leaks - A law enacted over a year ago (St. 2008, c.453) requires home... http://ow.ly/16tOyU 

When you follow the link you find: (bold added for my emphasis)
A law enacted over a year ago (St. 2008, c.453) requires homeowners with oil burners installed before 1990 to make a small change to their systems by July 1, 2010 to prevent leaks. According to the Mass. DEP, under the Homeowner Oil Heating System Upgrade and Insurance Law,  "Owners of 1- to 4-unit residences that are heated with oil must already have or install an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with a protective sleeve...  Installation of these devices must be performed by a licensed oil burner technician."  "It is important to note that heating oil systems installed on or after January 1, 1990 most likely are already in compliance because state fire codes implemented these requirements on new installations at that time."

The good news is that the law also requires insurers who offer homeowner's insurance to also offer coverage for oil leaks to those who have certified that they have made the repairs or are exempt from the requirement.

More information, including a diagram of necessary repairs, is available at the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection site.
The burner in my house failed and was replaced in Sep 2008 so I know we are compliant. This is the first I hear that there is a deadline to be complaint by July 1, 2010.

Is your oil fired burner compliant?




In the News - road repairs

Ashley Studley, Milford Daily News, filed her report from the Finance Committee meeting that took place last night.

Franklin looks at street repairs

from The Milford Daily News News RSS





Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Partial Live Reporting at FINCOM

I didn't get to tune into the Finance Committee meeting Tuesday evening until it was an hour underway. I did catch part of Chief McCarraher's discussion on the needs of the Fire Dept, and then Robert (Brutus) Cantoreggi's discussion on the DPW's needs.

I will catch up to the full meeting when the video is available on demand and report on the capital outlook. The one good item from this is the attempt to start spending something on a regular basis to repair our roads. As you may be aware, there are approx 200 miles of roads, many of which were built in the last 30 years and with no budget for road repair we are asking for trouble.

Yes, some of our roads do get repaired as part of the water enterprise account when water mains need to be repaired and upgraded. Or when we get some Chapter 90 money from the state, approx 750,000 the past several years. The Town has been very thrifty on this front and will need to start spending something significant on a regular basis to begin to handle the demands.

The Finance Committee did not vote on any capital budget items this evening. Based upon what happened last year, Jeff Nutting will wait to see how the winter treats the snow/ice budget before committing to use some of the "free cash" for capital items.

The meeting can be viewed on the internet video archive for the Town here



Text translator for 'teen speak'

Texting is all the rage amongst teens.

Cyberbullying happens to be one theme amongst the many messages sent.


LG has a website to help translate the texting shortcuts used.


You can translate from the short cut to SMS text or from a regular English sentence translate to text.


Related links:

Teen Angels is a group of middle school students working to raise awareness amongst their peers on cyberbullying. The TeenAngels presented to the School Committee earlier this month. You can see what they did here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-teen-angels.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/teen-angels-pledge-text-think-send.html

Legislation is being discussed to address cyberbullying. I don't think legislation is the answer. Parents, teachers, and the teens themselves can do a better job of creating awareness and changing behaviors.



Green Reel - FLOW, Sunday, Feb 7 at 7:00 PM

A series of films on sustainable living called "The Green Reel" will be held Sunday evenings in North Attleboro. The films are presented free of charge. Some refreshments are available. Discussion about the film is encouraged.

"Flow" will be shown Feb 7th at 7:00 PM

Flow (For Love Of Water)


"An astonishingly wide-ranging film. An informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests." - New York Times

"Lively and engaging...Smartly Done" - Los Angeles Times

“The inconvenient truth at the center of Flow: For Love of Water is that while the oil crisis is intensely debated and documented, disasters involving an even more essential fluid go perilously unnoticed.” - Slant Magazine

“Focusing on pollution, human rights, politics, and corruption, filmmaker Salina constructs an exceptionally articulate profile of the precarious relationship uniting human beings and water. “ - Rotten Tomatoes
----

Official Selection 2008 Sundance Film Festival

International Jury Prize 2008 Mumbai International Film Festival

Best Documentary 2008 Vail International Film Festival

Winner Best Documentary United Nations Association Film Festival

----

Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question "CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?"

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround.

The flyer for the full series can be seen here:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io




In the News - regionalization, elderly growth

One of the avenues to explore to more effectively utilize the limited funding available and maintain services is regionalization. Franklin and Bellingham share animal services. Franklin and Medway share library and recreation services. Franklin and Medway share nursing services for seniors.

This article shows other communities are considering additional services for regionalization.

Medway mulls regionalizing nursing, dispatch

from The Milford Daily News News RSS



Presenting data already collected for the foundation, Boston University professor Lorenz Finison told the commission yesterday that the regional population of residents 75 or older in 2000 is projected to grow about 60 percent by 2030. The study area includes the foundation's coverage zone of 25 cities and towns, a swath that stretches from Needham to Westborough and from Hudson to Bellingham.







Group discusses MetroWest's elderly population

from The Milford Daily News News RSS





In the News - pension reform

Given the extended discussion during the Budget Workshop held a week ago, this editorial is timely:

Editorial: Next steps on pension reform

from Wicked Local Franklin News RSS







Monday, February 1, 2010

FM Budget Workshop Part 3 - 1/25/10

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part three of the session recording. Susan Gagner, Town Comptroller, continues her presentation reviewing page 6, Fixed Costs. There is a whole lot of discussion around this page on pensions, health insurance, unemployment compensation.... All good questions, good answers from Susan and Jeff Nutting, Town Administrator.

Time: 32 minutes, 27 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:


Susan Gagner - The Six Year Fixed Cost History

------\

Thank you for listening.

For additional information, please visit FranklinMAtters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-2-12510.html